Chapter 208: I Am Unbeatable!
Noah rose from the floor, blood dripping down his chin, eyes burning with fury.
He stretched out his hand, shadows boiling from his skin.
Aegis of Hades.
Dark smoke bled upward, hardening into black armor that spread over his limbs, chest, and head like a living shell.
Intricate lines of darkness shimmered through the matte plating, spikes jutting at the shoulders and forearms.
The armor settled against him like an embrace, boosting his strength, and senses.
He flexed, the plates shifting seamlessly with his movements.
"Now," Noah’s voice rumbled, echoing beneath the helmet of shadows, "let’s make this interesting."
He thrust out his palm. A pale formation flared, and with it came a suffocating wave of hunger.
Eternal Cradle.
The very air thickened. Othello stiffened, eyes narrowing as the invisible spell swept through him, tearing at his vitality.
His skin grew ashen, his breath stuttering as cracks of decay crawled across his arm.
For a moment, Noah saw weakness. Then Othello let out a rasping laugh.
"Delicious," he crooned, forcing his body upright.
His flesh trembled, but the rot sealed almost instantly, new tissue knitting beneath. "Do you really think decay alone can touch me?"
Noah didn’t answer. He was already moving.
A flash of dark light bent space, and Noah disappeared. Null Stride.
He reappeared behind Othello, fist arcing downward like a hammer.
Othello caught it, snarling as the ground cracked beneath their feet.
Another Null Stride, Noah flickering away as Othello countered with a black-edged portal that opened beside him, his own fist thrusting through to strike Noah from the side.
The blow clipped Noah’s shoulder, staggering him.
Othello surged forward, spinning with power, his portal blooming like a second pair of limbs.
Fists and kicks shot from impossible angles.
Noah weaved through them, Aegis absorbing the worst of the damage, but the pressure mounted.
He slammed his tail into the floor, vaulting upward as Othello’s portal whipped beneath him.
Then he twisted in midair, shadows coiling around his fist.
"Pillar of Judgement."
The ceiling split with light as flames lanced down, engulfing Othello.
The scientist staggered in the inferno, his outline warped and smoldering. But still, he walked out, laughing wildly.
"More!" Othello shouted, half of his coat burned away.
His arms spread wide, spell formations unfurling in the air before him.
He hurled a spear of condensed void energy, the tip shrieking as it cut through the Cube.
Noah flash-stepped to the side, then again, appearing in a flurry of afterimages.
His mind worked furiously as he fought.
Othello’s regeneration made attrition meaningless. He needed something that would do more damage. A weapon he already had in his arsenal.
Their fists collided again, sparks of energy scattering as armor clashed with bone.
Othello kneed Noah in the gut, only for Noah to catch his leg and slam him into the ground.
The floor cratered, but Othello rolled free, springing upright with a grin pasted wide across his face.
"You’re forcing me to sweat!"
"You’ll be bleeding next," Noah growled, shadows bubbling around him.
Their battle blurred across the Cube, teleportation against portals, and fists against spells.
Finally, Noah pulled back, breathing hard.
He lifted his hand.
Shadows folded around it, condensing, twisting into a core of annihilation. The air screamed as if the world itself recoiled.
"Void Bolt."
The orb barrelled forward into a lance of black light, condensed so tightly it seemed to swallow the glow around it.
Othello’s eyes widened for the first time as it roared towards him.
He thrust his portals up, black shields locking into place, layers of folded space bracing against the strike.
The bolt tore through them like paper.
One by one, the panels splintered, collapsing in sparks of void energy. The beam didn’t slow.
It hit Othello square in the chest.
The scientist’s grin finally flickered as the blast drove him backwards.
The force pinned him against the Cube wall, cracks spreading outward like lightning as the energy seared through his defenses.
When the light faded, Othello staggered forward. His glasses hung askew, blood dripping from his lip.
Smoke poured off his chest, the skin around the wound charred and blackened.
For a moment, it looked as though he might finally collapse. Then his head tilted back, and a broken, manic laugh spilled from his lips.
"An S-rank spell..." he croaked, his glasses cracked, teeth gleaming red with blood. "You actually hit me with an S-rank spell and I’m still standing?"
"Hah! Do you have any idea how amazing this feels?" His body trembled, but instead of falling, he straightened, wheezing laughter echoing through the Cube.
Noah’s response was wordless.
He raised his hand again, mana boiling, shadows bending inward to form another sphere of annihilation.
The Void screamed as the Bolt compressed, then fired.
The beam tore through the Cube, and this time, there was no shield, and no barrier.
It struck Othello with full force.
The scientist’s chest detonated in a spray of gore, his torso obliterated, ribcage collapsing into dust.
He dropped to his knees, clutching at the ragged wound that should have ended him instantly.
His head hung low, blood dripping from his chin to the scorched floor.
Then he laughed again.
The sound rose until it filled the chamber with something feral.
"You don’t understand, boy," Othello hissed, raising his ruined face.
His body convulsed, flesh knitting itself in grotesque ways.
Red veins split open across his skin, glowing like fire under glass.
Horn-like ridges began forcing their way out of his shoulders, his arms elongating, his nails blackening into claws.
His one remaining eye gleamed with madness.
"I am not like Bruno. Or Snake. Or any of the pathetic failures you put down." His voice warped, growing deeper, carrying a resonance that shook the Cube itself.
"They were tests. But me? I am the culmination. The perfected vessel. Do you know what that makes me?"
He grinned, blood-streaked teeth flashing as his voice rose to a shriek. "It makes me the equivalent of an Archdemon!"
Noah steadied himself, narrowing his glowing eyes.
He didn’t hesitate. Another Void Bolt hissed into existence, compressed until the very air fractured. He hurled it at Othello.
The transformed scientist threw back his head and roared.
Then, with one casual swipe of his clawed hand, he batted the S-rank spell aside.
The Void Bolt snapped against the Cube wall and detonated harmlessly, leaving only a gouged scar of cracked panels.
Othello stood tall, laughter booming now, triumphant and unhinged.
"See that?! I am unbeatable!"